Expandible card case



June 17, 1958 H. MOSCOWITZ ET AL 2,839,114

EXPANDIBLE CARD CASE Filed April 5, 1957 IN VEN TORI) HAROLD MOYOW ITZBY LEON/9R0 moscaw/rz.

Arron/Er.

United States Patent EXPANDIBLE CARD CASE Harold Moscowitz, Brooklyn,and Leonard Moscowitz, Manhasset, N. Y.

Application April 3, 1957, Serial No. 650,483

1 Claim. (Cl. 150-39) This invention relates to card cases and, moreparticularly, to a card case that is automatically adjustable toaccommodate substantially any selected number of card holders therein.

It has been found that different individuals require and desire to carrydifferent numbers of cards, photographs, and the like in holders thatare generally known as card cases which are usually carried on theperson. Many of these card cases are self-contained or are embodied inwallets, purses, and other similar personal effects. Because of thedifierent requirements of different individuals, many of these cardcases have been constructed so that various numbers of card holders maybe inserted and removed, 'as required, so that suificient holders may bemade available when needed and unused holders may be removed when notrequired. However, the utility and attractiveness of many of thesedevices is limited since the outside cover of the card case canaccommodate only a predetermined maximum number of cards and holders onthe one hand, and present an untidy and loose appearance when a largeproportion of the card holders are removed from the interior thereof.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide anadjustable card case that may be self-contained or used in conjunctionwith other personal eifects that is simple in construction, eilicient inuse, and which will overcome the aforementioned difiiculties.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an adjustable cardcase that includes an outside cover having support means for receivingany of a predetermined number of card holders and which is automaticallyadjusted in size by the number of holders contained therein so that aneat and tidy appearance is maintained at all times regardless of thenumber of card holders and cards supported therewithin.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a card casehaving an outside adjustable cover that has self-contained means forautomatically adjusting the capacity of the card case in response tochanges in the number of card holders and cards inserted therein.

A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a cardcase of the above type wherein the cover of the case includes resilientmeans for automatically controlling the size thereof in response to thenumber of cards and card holders supported therein.

An additional object of the present invention is to provide a card casehaving an outside cover that includes a substantially inelastic basemember for supporting a selected number of card holders, a closure flaphaving means at one end for engaging one end of the cover, and anelastic band connecting the opposite end of the closure flap to theopposite end of the cover, whereby' the interior capacity of the cardcase may be adjusted between predetermined limits.

All of the foregoing and still further objects and advantages of thisinvention will become apparent from 2,839,114 Patented June 17, 1958 astudy of the following specification, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a wallet (shown in phantom lines)embodying a card case made in accordance wtih the present invention, andhaving parts broken away to show details of construction.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal cross-sectional view taken along line22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the card case in closedposition within the wallet.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2, showing the card case in a closedposition and containing a relatively few number of card holders.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a substantially greaternumber of card holders supported within the card case.

Referring now to the drawing, and more particularly to Fig. 1 thereof, acard case made in accordance with the present invention is shown, forpurposes of illustration, in operative association with a wallet 10. Asis more clearly shown in Fig. 2 this wallet 10 includes a longitudinallyextending currency compartment 11 that is defined by an inside wall 12and outside wall 13, and which is foldable in half about a substantiallycentral transverse axis.

A card case 15, made in accordance with the present invention, is shownto include an outside cover 17 having one end secured to the inside wall12 of the wallet, such as by stitches 16. An elastic strip 18 ofsubstantially the same width as the outside cover 17 is secured at oneend to the adjacent end of the cover 17, such as by a row of stitches20. A closure flap 22 for the card case is secured at one end to theopposite end of the resilient or elastic strip 18 by another row ofstitches 23.

It will be recognized that this card case is substantiallyself-contained and, by eliminating the securement'stitches 16 thatfasten the cover 17 to the inside wall 12 of the wallet, such could beconstructed as an independent unit bymerely extending the length of thecover 17 to encompass the contents. However, in the construction shown,the elastic strip 18 and adjacent ends of the outside cover 17 andclosure flap 22 extend between the inside wall 12 of the wallet and aninner compartment wall 25 thereof which has a cutout as so as to visiblyposition a conventional identification card therein. At the same time,this arrangement masks the elastic strip 18 and the connections thereofto the other parts of the card case.

The free end of the outside cover 17 is provided with a female snapmember 28, while a cooperating male snap member 29 is secured to thefree end of the closure .fiap 22, whereby the card case may beselectively closed. A substantially U-shaped Clip bar having asubstantially fiat base 31 is secured to the outside cover 17 and has apair of perpendicularly extending sides 32 that are adapted to beextended into similarly shaped openings within the mid sections offlexible transparent card holders 34. Thus, any desired number of cardholders 34 may be secured to the clip bar as they may be required. Withreference to Fig. 2, a nominal number of card holders 34 are shown in anopen position with respect to the card case 15, in which position theresilient band 18 is in a relaxed or retracted position within theadjacent portions of the wallet. With a reduced number of card holders34 secured within the card case 15, as shown in Fig. 4, the elastic band18 is stretched or extended only a relatively slight amount when theclosure flap 22 is fastened to the end of the outside cover 17. However,with a substantially greater number of card holders 34 supported withinthe card case, the elastic band 18 is necessarily stretched a relativelygreater amount 18a in order to move the closure flap 22a to a 3 closedposition, whereupon the snap fasteners 28, 29, are engaged with eachother\ It will be recognized that this construction not only permitssubstantially any number of cards to be accommodated within a singlecard case, but the inherent elasticity of the closure'fiap 22 andelastic band '18 maintains the parts of the card case and the associateddevice, such as the wallet 10, in proper shape, thereby increasing itsattractiveness and utility. As a result, the combined device requires aminimum amount of space within the pocket or handbag and since there areno loose parts, wear upon the article is substantially reduced therebyprolonging the useful life thereof.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to theconstruction shown in the drawing,

it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as impartinglimitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claimappended hereto.'

We claim:

In a wallet having an outside currency receiving pocket 20 said flapcomprising yieldable resilient length-adjustment means for automaticallycontrolling the capacity of said cardcase within predetermined limitsinresponse to ad justment of the number of card holders carried withinsaid card case, said yieldable resilient means including an 7 elasticband secured'at one end to said flap andsecured at the opposite end ofsaid inside wall of said wallet, said elastic band being ofsubstantially the same width as said flap and said outside cover of saidcard case.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTSLinehan Aug. 12, 1952 Knee May 22, 1956

